Xero GST return (NZ): what each box means and what to check before you file

Short answer: Xero builds your New Zealand GST return (the GST101A) from the GST rate on every invoice, bill and bank transaction, and can file it straight to Inland Revenue once you connect it to myIR. You open it from the Tax menu, under GST return. Paying is separate: you still pay IRD the usual way. Before you file, reconcile every bank account to the last day of the period, open the return and click into each box to see the transactions behind it, and compare Box 15 with the GST account on your Balance Sheet. The return is only as right as the GST rate on each line, so most of the check is looking for wrong rates. Then look at Box 15: the GST you collected was never the business’s money, so a return can take a big slice of the bank balance at once. In the worked example below, a business with $16,000 in the bank owes $5,850, which leaves $10,150.

The boxes on a GST return

Boxes 1 to 4 are your details (IRD number, period, name). The figures start at Box 5, and Boxes 5 and 11 are GST-inclusive: the return takes the GST out by multiplying by 3 and dividing by 23 (15% on top is 3/23 of the total).

Box	What it is	Comes from in Xero
5	Total sales and income, including GST	Sales at 15% and zero-rated sales; exempt income (such as interest and residential rent) and “No GST” lines are left out
6	Zero-rated supplies included in Box 5	Sales coded at 0%, such as exported goods
7	Box 5 − Box 6	The sales that carry GST
8	GST on sales	Box 7 × 3 ÷ 23
9	Adjustments	Extra GST to pay, such as private use of business assets or a GST adjustment from last period
10	Total GST collected	Box 8 + Box 9
11	Total purchases and expenses, including GST	Bills and money spent at 15% with a valid tax invoice (taxable supply information); imported goods are left out (Customs collects that GST)
12	GST on purchases	Box 11 × 3 ÷ 23
13	Credit adjustments	GST you can claim back that is not in Box 11, such as GST on a bad debt written off, or GST Customs charged on imports
14	Total GST credit	Box 12 + Box 13
15	GST to pay, or refund	Box 10 − Box 14. If Box 14 is bigger, IRD owes you

Box 15 is the one you pay.

A worked period: an electrician in Auckland

These figures are made up. Tama’s electrical company is GST registered on the invoice basis and files two-monthly. This is the September to October 2026 period, so the return and the payment are both due by 28 November 2026 (the 28th of the month after the period ends; the two exceptions are periods ending 31 March, due 7 May, and 30 November, due 15 January).

Box	What went in	$
5 Total sales including GST	Jobs invoiced in the period: 60,000 plus 9,000 GST	69,000
6 Zero-rated supplies	None this period	0
8 GST on sales	69,000 × 3 ÷ 23	9,000
11 Purchases including GST	Cable, fittings, fuel and the van lease: 21,000 plus 3,150 GST	24,150
12 GST on purchases	24,150 × 3 ÷ 23	(3,150)
15 GST to pay	9,000 − 3,150	5,850

Brackets are minus figures. Wages, PAYE, KiwiSaver, bank fees, loan repayments and drawings are not in Box 11 at all, because they carry no GST.

On 31 October the business has $16,000 in the bank. It made a profit in the period, but $5,850 of that balance belongs to IRD by 28 November. What Tama can actually spend is $10,150, before the next payroll and any bills already due. Moving 3/23 of every payment received into a separate account, and taking the GST on purchases back out, would have built the $5,850 up at about $2,925 a month.

Invoice or payments basis: the same period both ways

At 31 October, $11,500 of the period’s invoices ($10,000 plus $1,500 GST) are still unpaid.

GST basis	Box 5	Box 8	Box 15
Invoice basis: GST is due when you invoice	69,000	9,000	5,850
Payments basis: GST is due when the customer pays	69,000 − 11,500 = 57,500	7,500	4,350

On the invoice basis Tama pays $1,500 of GST on invoices customers have not paid yet. If one of them is never paid and is written off, the GST in it can be claimed back as a credit adjustment in Box 13 (writing off a bad debt in Xero). On the payments basis that GST moves to the period the money arrives in (this example assumes every purchase was paid in the period, so Box 12 is the same both ways). A business can use the payments basis if its sales are $2 million or less in a 12-month period; the hybrid basis (invoice for sales, payments for purchases) is open to anyone but rarely helps cash flow. The basis set in Xero’s financial settings must match what IRD has for you; ask your accountant before changing it. The cash vs accrual reports guide explains how the same choice changes your Profit and Loss.

How to check and file a GST return in Xero

1. Reconcile every bank account and credit card to the last day of the period. Unreconciled lines are not in the return yet, and a missing purchase is GST you could have claimed. The bank reconciliation report guide shows how to confirm Xero agrees with the bank statement.
2. Open the GST return from the Tax menu (in Xero’s older menu: Accounting, then GST returns) and choose the period. Check the basis and filing frequency in the return’s settings match what IRD has.
3. Click into each box. Xero shows the transactions behind each figure. Read down Box 11 for items that should carry no GST, and look for any big sale missing from Box 5.
4. Compare the Balance Sheet at the period end: the GST account should be close to Box 15, plus anything older still unpaid. A gap usually means a transaction coded straight to the GST account or a manual journal.
5. File to Inland Revenue from Xero. The first time, you connect Xero to IRD with your myIR login. You can file a GST-only return, or GST and provisional tax together if you use the ratio option (provisional tax in NZ compares the options). Or file in myIR yourself using Xero’s figures.
6. Set a lock date at the end of the period (in Xero’s advanced settings) so nobody changes a period IRD already has.
7. Pay it, or plan for it. Filing from Xero does not pay the GST. Pay IRD by the due date and record the payment against the GST account, so the Balance Sheet goes back to zero for that period. If the cash is not there, file on time anyway and ask IRD for an instalment arrangement (what to do if you can’t pay a tax bill on time).

Menu names differ a little by Xero plan and change between releases; search Xero Central for “GST return” if your screen does not match.

Common mistakes

• Wrong GST rates. Wages, bank fees, interest, loan repayments, IRD payments and owner drawings carry no GST. Coding them at 15% claims GST you never paid. Use No GST or Exempt for them, so Box 11 stays right too.
• Claiming without a tax invoice, or from a supplier who is not GST registered (a supplier who is not registered charges no GST, so there is nothing to claim).
• Claiming the full GST on mixed-use costs such as a vehicle or phone used privately as well. The private share comes back out as an adjustment in Box 9.
• Treating the bank balance as spendable in the weeks before the return is due. The GST in it belongs to IRD, and so does the income tax building up on your profit (how much to set aside for tax works out one percentage for all of it).
• Editing a period after it has been filed. Small errors can go in the next return; larger ones need an amendment (see below).
• Leaving it to the week it is due. A monthly look at the GST account on the Balance Sheet makes Box 15 a number you saw coming.

Common questions

Where is the GST return in Xero? In the Tax menu, under GST return. If your Xero still shows the older menu, it is under Accounting, then GST returns. Choose the period to see Boxes 5 to 15 worked out from your transactions, and click a box to see the invoices, bills and bank lines behind it.

Can Xero file my GST return to IRD? Yes. Connect Xero to Inland Revenue with your myIR login and file the return from Xero. It files the return only; you still pay the GST to IRD yourself.

When is my GST return due? The return and the payment are both due on the 28th of the month after the period ends. The exceptions are periods ending 31 March (due 7 May) and 30 November (due 15 January).

How often do I have to file GST? Two-monthly is the usual default. You can choose six-monthly if your sales are under $500,000 in a 12-month period, or monthly if you want to. Monthly is compulsory once sales pass $24 million. You must register for GST once sales pass $60,000 in a 12-month period. In Australia the threshold is $75,000: see when you must register for GST.

How do I fix a mistake on a GST return I have already filed? If the GST difference is $1,000 or less, or no more than the lower of $10,000 and 2% of the period’s output tax, you can correct it in your next return. Larger errors need an amendment request to IRD. Ask your accountant if you are unsure.

What happens if I file or pay GST late? Filing late costs $50 on the payments basis and $250 on the invoice or hybrid basis. Paying late adds 1% of the unpaid GST the day after the due date and another 4% if it is still unpaid seven days later, plus interest.

How much should I set aside for GST? At 15%, 3/23 of every GST-inclusive payment you receive, less 3/23 of GST-inclusive purchases with GST on them. In the example above that is $5,850 for the two months, or about $2,925 a month.

See the GST coming in your Monday email

ReportPilot reads your Xero figures and sends a short plain-English email every Monday. It covers sales and profit against last month and the same month last year, the cash in the bank against the end of last month, money owed to you that is past due and by whom, and bills due in the next two weeks against your cash. It does not prepare or file a GST return. It asks Xero for read-only access, and there is a 14-day free trial with no card, then plans start at US$19 a month. In Australia the same job is the BAS (the Xero BAS report guide), and in the UK it is the VAT return.